Full Throttle

I am back from Oshkosh, one of the greatest adventures yet in my life thus far!! :)  I hope to have a write up on that, and Yorktown for that matter, posted in the near future.

For now, I had to mention just a few things that are in motion. If I ever thought that my fun would end after this summer, I was completely wrong!

Firstly, I learned so much at the air show and had a blast running around talking to people! I got to talk to a bunch of aerobatic pilots and bumped into one of my fav's while checking out his plane: Greg Koontz. Turns out he has an aerobatic school/bed & breakfast at his house in Alabama. IF I study really hard and get my license by November, I could be spending Thanksgiving being thankful for aerobatics! It's not free by any means, but still an amazing experience! Just means I have to start studying now and harder than I ever did before.

Want to know the strangest thing? I went back to look at pictures I took from my second airshow; my first time seeing him perform. Dated June 2011. My description underneath a picture of his plane read:

        "Greg Koontz's plane. Also flew in the show. Absolutely breath taking. If I ever become an aerobatic pilot, it'll be because of him. Have video of him too."

I only meant at the time that he might inspire me to do so in the future. Had no idea at the time how literal those words might become. If I succeed, then I will quite literally become an aerobatic pilot because of him.

Today at lunch, I tried to tackle calculating density altitude...without a whole lot of luck. But I've got to hang in there - this is one of the main things that propelled me to return to Atlanta. I did not  (and still do not) want to leave Oshkosh.

If that wasn't enough on my plate, once I recover financially, I plan to sign up for the Sparta 5k in the spring. Not really an aviation thing, but quite a big deal and will require lots and lots of training. It's another obstacle mud 5k... apparently one of the hardest.

And then tonight, I found out that one of the required courses (Officer Basic Course) I need for CAP will start Thursday night. I signed up awhile ago because I need it to pass my current level. The waiting list was long, so I put my name in awhile back and just waited. The second one, Squadron Leadership School, will have a session in October that I also need to sign up for.

So in the next few months, both money & time will be tight. If I drop off the face of the planet, that is why. I'd really like to make Oshkosh again next year, but in order to do all of these fantastic things, I need to budget like I've never budgeted before and study like I've never studied before. Then and only then will I reach heights that I've never reached before. :)